Tingley nominated for NCAA Woman of the Year Award

Posted: Jul 12, 2018

Prestigious award honors excellence in academics, athletics, service and leadership

PLYMOUTH, N.H. – Recent graduate and Plymouth State University women's lacrosse standout Megan Tingley (Natick, Mass.) has been honored as a nominee for the 2018 NCAA Woman of the Year Award following an outstanding career on and off the field.

One of the most prolific scorers in Plymouth State women's lacrosse history, Tingley capped a brilliant career with a record-setting senior campaign, collecting Little East Conference (LEC) Offensive Player of the Year honors while leading the Panthers to a second straight NCAA Tournament appearance.

Among the most prestigious of NCAA awards, the Woman of the Year Award was established in 1991 to honor graduating female student-athletes who have distinguished themselves in the areas of academic achievement, athletics excellence, service and leadership throughout their careers.

A three-time All-LEC First Team honoree, two-time Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) All-Pilgrim Region Second Teamer and the 2018 LEC Tournament Most Outstanding Player, Tingley finished her career second among the program's all-time scoring leaders with 298 points. She owns school records for assists in a game (eight – accomplished during the 2018 LEC Tournament Championship game), season (44) and career (151), as well as points in a game (11 – also reached in the 2018 LEC title contest). Her 147 career goals are the eighth most all-time, while she also finished fifth in school history with 183 career draw controls and seventh all-time with 89 career caused turnovers.

Tingley was as exceptional in the classroom as she was on the field, graduating summa cum laude in May with a degree in Early Childhood Studies with a concentration in Teacher Certification (Pre-K through 3). She was named to the LEC All-Academic Team all three years (first-year student-athletes are ineligible for the award) and made President's List in seven of eight semesters, also earning Dean's List honors in the spring of 2015. Tingley was the recipient of the 2018 Outstanding Early Childhood Studies Major Award and a PSU Top 20 Senior nominee.

Additionally, Tingley has been involved in a number of service campaigns within the Plymouth community; most notably working with campus ministry to deliver Thanksgiving Day food baskets to community members, organizing team donations to the Student Support Foundation Food Pantry and mentoring elementary school students as part of the PAWWS (Positive Athletes Working with Students) program, among others.

Tingley is one of a record 581 Woman of the Year nominees encompassing all three NCAA divisions, including 199 from Division III. Conferences across all three divisions will assess the nominees of its core member schools and select up to two conference nominees for the Woman of the Year selection committee. The conference nominees are scheduled to be announced in early August.

The selection committee will then choose the top 10 honorees in each division and will determine the nine finalists (three from each division) from among those 30 candidates. Finally, the members of the Committee on Women's Athletics will vote from the nine finalists to determine the 2018 NCAA Woman of the Year.

The top 10 honorees from each division, including the nine overall finalists, will be honored at a dinner on October 28 in Indianapolis, where this year's winner will be announced.